MAM
CEAT signs bat endorsement deal with Indian cricketer Shreyas Iyer
MUMBAI: CEAT Ltd, a leading Indian tyre manufacturer has signed a bat endorsement deal with Indian Cricket’s rising star ‘Shreyas Iyer’. Shreyas will now be a valuable addition to the Team CEAT, which boasts of stars like Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal and Harmanpreet Kaur. The CEAT logo will be prominently donned on the bats used by the agile right-hander in all formats of the game henceforth.
Born in Mumbai, Shreyas Iyer is a prolific top-order batsman and is known for his fearless style of batting and high strike rate. His style of play has even drawn him comparisons to the legendary Virender Sehwag. He went on to become the youngest player to captain the Delhi Capitals and in 2019, led the team to the playoffs for the first time in seven years. In 2017, he made his T20 and ODI debut for India and was a part of the recently concluded T20 series between India and South Africa.
Shreyas started his training at the age of 12 under erstwhile Indian cricketer Pravin Amre at Shivaji Park Gymkhana. His early training days laid the foundation of his exceptional form during his college days which eventually earned him a spot in the Indian team for the Under-19 World Cup of 2014. He also had a successful stint playing for the Trent Bridge cricket team in England where he scored 297 runs in three innings at an average of 99. His spectacular performance in domestic competitions like Ranji Trophy and Vijay Hazare trophy across seasons has been the highlight of his cricketing career.
Owing to his exceptional performance in the 2015-16 Ranji season, he was picked up by the Delhi Daredevils in the 2015 IPL auction for a whopping Rs 2.6 crores making him the highest-earning uncapped player in the tournament. He scored 439 runs in that edition which earned him the emerging player award.
Commenting on the latest development, Anant Goenka, Managing Director, CEAT Ltd, said, “With IPL and CEAT Cricket Awards, we continue to believe in Cricket’s ever growing popularity. We are delighted to have Shreyas Iyer on board, representing our brand across all formats of cricket. Shreyas is one of the exciting talents that gets added to our super talented line-up of Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Harmanpreet Kaur, Mayank Agarwal and young Shubman Gill. His fearless yet dependable style of play has made him one of the most exciting prospects in the International cricket and that makes him a great fit for our brand. We welcome him to the CEAT family and hope that he continues to succeed on and off the field."
Speaking on the occasion, Shreyas Iyer said, “It is my pleasure to be associated with CEAT that has always supported and boosted cricket in the country. I am looking forward to this longstanding relationship with CEAT and continuing to excel in the game, making many more great memories on the field.”
Digital
Content India 2026 opens with a copro pitch, a spice evangelist and a £10,000 prize for Indian storytelling
Dish TV and C21Media’s three-day summit puts seven ambitious projects before an international jury, and two walk away with serious development money
MUMBAI: India’s content industry gathered in Mumbai this March for Content India 2026, a three-day summit organised by Dish TV in partnership with C21Media, and it wasted no time making a statement. The event opened with a Copro Pitch that put seven scripted and unscripted television concepts before an international panel of judges, and by the end of it, two projects had walked away with £10,000 each in marketing prize money from C21Media to support development and international promotion.
The jury, comprising Frank Spotnitz, Fiona Campbell, Rashmi Bajpai, Bal Samra and Rachel Glaister, evaluated a shortlist that ranged from a dark Mumbai comedy-drama about mental health (Dirty Minds, created by Sundar Aaron) to a Delhi coming-of-age mystery (Djinn Patrol, by Neha Sharma and Kilian Irwin), a techno-thriller about a teenage gaming prodigy (Kanpur X Satori, by Suchita Bhatia), an investigative crime drama blending mythology and modern thriller (The Age of Kali, by Shivani Bhatija), a documentary on India’s spice heritage (The Masala Quest, hosted by Sarina Kamini), a documentary on competitive gaming (Respawn: India’s Esports Revolution, by George Mangala Thomas and Sangram Mawari), and a reality-horror competition merging gaming and immersive fear (Scary Goose, by Samar Iqbal).
The session was hosted by Mayank Shekhar.
The two winners were Djinn Patrol, backed by Miura Kite, formerly of Participant Media and known for Chinatown and Keep Sweet: Pray & Obey, with Jaya Entertainment, producers of Real Kashmir Football Club, also attached; and The Masala Quest, created and hosted by Sarina Kamini, an Indian-Australian cook, author and self-described “spice evangelist.”
The summit also unveiled the Content India Trends Report, whose findings made for bracing reading. Daoud Jackson, senior analyst at OMDIA, set the tone: “By 2030, online video in India will nearly double the revenue of traditional TV, becoming the main driver of growth.” He noted that in 2025, India produced a quarter of all YouTube videos globally, overtaking the United States, while Indians collectively spend 117 years daily on YouTube and 72 years on Instagram. Traditional subscription TV is declining as free TV and connected TV gain ground, forcing broadcasters to innovate. “AI-generated content is just 2 per cent of engagement,” Jackson added, “highlighting the dominance of high-quality human content. The key for Indian media companies is scaling while monetising effectively from day one.”
Hannah Walsh, principal analyst at Ampere Analysis, added hard numbers to the picture. India produced over 24,000 titles in January 2026 alone, with 19,000 available internationally. The country now accounts for 12 per cent of Asia-Pacific content spend, up from 8 per cent in 2021, outpacing both Japan and China. Key exporters include JioStar, Zee Entertainment, Sony India, Amazon and Netflix, delivering over 7,500 Indian-produced titles abroad each year. The top importing markets are Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, the United States and the Philippines. Scripted content dominates globally at 88 per cent, with crime dramas and children’s and family titles performing particularly strongly.
Manoj Dobhal, chief executive and executive director of Dish TV India, framed the summit’s ambition squarely. “Stories don’t need translation. They need a platform, discovery, and reach, local or global,” he said. “India produces more movies than any country, our streaming platforms compete globally, and our tech and creators win international awards. Yet fragmentation slows growth. Producers, platforms, and tech move in different lanes. We need shared spaces, collaboration, and an ecosystem where ideas, technology, and people meet. That is why we built Content India.”
The data, the pitches and the prize money all pointed to the same conclusion: India is not waiting for the world to discover its stories. It is building the infrastructure to sell them.
